9.23.2008

In August I posted about some sites with classroom display ideas. At the British site Teaching Ideas there is an entire section devoted to images of creative classroom displays. Just click on the subject-area you teach, and bunches of cool bulletin board ideas will appear. For science class, you can make a Funny Bones display like the one shared by Teaching Ideas contributer, Kate. Foreign language students would love a vocabulary display inspired by favorite characters like this one.

9.22.2008

The job of a teacher involves lots of little pieces of paper. Hall passes, late slips, notes from parents, book marks, and lists can pile up until there is no hope for processing all of the information.Enter marthastewart.comBack-to-School crafts. For the beginning-of-school season, there are 7 projects to brighten school supplies and organize the classroom. Best bets for teachers are the Plastic Pocket, the Book-Cover Pocket, and the Mini Notebook Keeper. Each of these simple projects includes detailed instructions and the necessary templates.

9.12.2008

I give prizes. There, I said it. I used to love making a batch of brownies or cupcakes for my students when they made particularly good decisions or achieved goals. However, my new school district doesn't allow teachers to give any sort of food to students. As I've looked around for alternative goodies, I discovered another great free download. At Mollie Johanson's blog, Wild Olive, these pencil toppers can be downloaded and printed for instant kid-prize-goodness. There are five designs in the set including these encouraging phrases. Dig around Mollie's site a little to find other great, free downloads like the matching dull pencil desktop wallpaper, an adorable weather-tracking chart, recipes, embroidery patterns, and printables. Once you have fallen in love with her free goodies, run to Mollie's Etsy shop where you can buy more of her designs.

9.08.2008

Snacks are often an essential tool in reviving children for after-school activities. Karen and Amy at thelilpeanutpatch posted an adorable back-to-school snack idea.Click on over to get the details of the recipe.